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ATELIER Z+ 张斌工作室,张斌

Address:	Ou'yang Road, No.568, 2B, Shanghai, China
Zip:	200081
Tel:	+86 (0)21 56665987
Fax:	+86 (0)21 56667295
E-mail:	atelier_zplus@163.com

ZHANG Bin

Atelier Z+ was founded in the 2002, as a small-sized cross-disciplinary design team based in Shanghai. Its activities include urban planning, architecture, interior design and landscape architecture, yearning for non-uniform, open and introspective means of design across different projects of very different magnitude. While facing China°Øs drastic changing social values, material environment and life styles, Atelier Z+ always strives to always identify the particular problems and challenges proper to each particular project as a jumping-off point, and then sets conforming realistic but seemingly isolated or even conflicting resources into a highly consistent inner unity as its goal. By revealing and presenting the hidden potentials of its different projects, Atelier Z+ observes the real insights into the contradictions prevailing in our everyday lives (in China), for instance, modernity versus history, local versus global, environment versus development, reality versus ideals. That is to say, architectural construction is not only a matter of piling up materials but more importantly, it ought to be expressing one°Øs understanding of the relationship between human existence and nature. We insist on maintaining such architectural behavior: first using profound and thoughtful considerations, before reaching our inner brutal temperament, which on one hand shows rational technical choices, and on the other hand demonstrates a lifestyle full of creativity and imaginations.

Atelier Z+ has accomplished many important completed projects, including the Building C of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tong Ji University, the Sino-French Centre also of Tong Ji, the Pedestrian Mall of Yangjia Ping, Chongqing, the main stadium of the Sports Centre in City of Jiaxing. It also has quite a few designs under construction, such as the Broadcasting and Television Centre of Dongguan, the Courtyard Residence of Tianya Water Scene Town in Suzhou, etc. Atelier Z+°Øs current important projects are Xiayang Millennium Business Centre of Qingpu, Shanghai, Government Office Building of Liantang Town, Qingpu, Shanghai, Zhongfu Committee°Øs Kindergarten in New Jiangwan City, Shanghai, Shanghai Cultural Information Industry Zone, and the Recreational Centre of Anding Town, Jiading, Shanghai.

Atelier Z+ is directed by two associates, ZHANG Bin and ZHOU Wei.

Born in Shanghai in 1968, ZHANG Bin received his Bachelor°Øs and Master°Øs Degree of Architecture from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University, respectively in 1992 and 1995. Between 1995 and 2002, he lectured in the very same College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Tongji. In 1999, he was selected as one of the °∞150 Chinese Architects in France°±, a Sino-French cultural exchange program, which gave him the opportunity to attend the Paris-Villemin Architecture Institute, while working as a visiting architect for Architecture Studio. In 2002, ZHANG Bin took up the heavy responsibility as the columnist of °∞Times Architecture°± journal. The same year he also founded Atelier Z+ and worked as its leading architect. He was invited as the guest jury for the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tong Ji University in 2004.

ZHOU Wei, born in Shanghai 1972, got her Bachelor of Architecture from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University in 1996. Between 1996 and 2001 she respectively worked as an architect for the Shanghai China Construction Architecture Design Institute and the American JWDA Architecture Design Office, Shanghai Branch. ZHOU Wei has been working in Atelier Z+ as leading Architect since 2003.

Since 2004, Atelier Z+ has obtained numerous important awards, including the WA China Architecture Award 2004, the 2006 Fourth Architecture Design Award of the China Architecture Association, the 2006 Sixth Young Architects Award of the China Architecture Association and the 2006 First Architecture Design Award of the Shanghai Architecture Association. Atelier Z+ has taken part over the past years in various exhibitions: the 2006 Shanghai Qingpu, Xiaoxi Men °∞Little Yellow Box?-Qingpu, Contemporary Arts in China°Øs Spatial Structure°± Show and 2007 Design Show for 40 Architecture Designers under 40 years old. Atelier Z+ has published its projects in domestic and overseas professional journals and magazines, including °∞Times Architecture°±, °∞World Architecture°±, °∞Bauwelt°±, °∞Architektur Aktuell°±, °∞I.W_Interior World°±.

- Building C, College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Tongji University, Shanghai

As an extension to the main building of CAUP college of architecture and urban planning, Building C isprogrammed for research and graduate student education on a congested site, with main building adjoiningwestern side and campus enclosing wall next to northern side. The appearance of this building is considered asrevelation of °∞dormant°± potential of this silent corner in the campus, which intends to re-establish its relationshipwith the campus, the main building and the city. This is a building encouraging sufficient communication andinspiring hidden enthusiasm and creative instinct beyond rational system, so that the process of using it is also therevelation of °∞dormant°± potential for users themselves. The space is envisioned as a kind of flowing continuumand the numerical relationship between service and serviced space is broken through, so that the communicationspace becomes the main component, and the functional space as °∞plug and play°± element. The core of building Cis a centered east to west connecting corridor system, including a straight staircase connecting all floors of workingspace and a series of vertical light shafts. Sufficient daylight and diffuse space create a communication place for allprofessors and students. Research workshops, as the main body of the building, cover all the upper floors on thesouth of the corridor. Supervisor°Øs studios / flexible workshops and vertical circulation / service units are arranged astwo volumes plugged in different heights on the north of the corridor, with three overlapping voids in between (twoindoor planted atriums on basement and third level, and a roof garden on seventh level). They share a commontransparent glass envelop on the north facade. Waterfall and stepped plant incorporated into the sunken gardento the south provide a vivid recreational space to the underground gallery. The overlapping of large scale publicspace from north to south produces intense variation in space dimension and orientation, and intertwines insidewith outside. The building becomes the filter of the whole environment. In order to interact with environmentand demonstrate its interior mechanism, we try to seek the visibility of interior space and the expressivity ofsurface material instead of the unity of exterior facade. Different space types have been distinguished in forms andmaterials of the facade, making each surface of the building respond to different context of the site.

- Sino-French Centre, Tongji University

Sino-French Centre of Tongji University is located at the south-east corner of the campus, with 12.9 Building, theoldest existing building of the campus, and 12.9 Memorial Park on its west side, tracking field on its south side,and Siping Road on its east Side. XuRi Building, which should be preserved, is located at the north-west corner ofthe site. And the other precondition is that a group of existing metasequoias and the other scattered located ninetrees such as deodar cedars, planetrees, Japanese pagodatrees and willows are chosen to be retained.The goal of this project is to create a form system to integrate its program, its site context and its culture context.Our way to achieve it is to use a geometric diagram to control the materialization of its program and circulation,to conform to the site restriction, and also to indicate its symbolic meaning, the culture exchange between twocountries. This diagram of °∞Hand in Hand°± is introduced to organize the whole building with its inherent structureof dualistic juxtaposition.

The program is composed of three parts, college, office and public gathering space. Two similar but differentzigzag volumes, occupied by college and office sector respectively, overlap and interlace each other, and then theyare linked together by the volume of public gathering space on underground and up level. College and officesector share the main entrance which is located at the void part of the intersection of these two volumes, whilepublic gathering space has its own lobby, which faces to roof pool and sunken garden, to connect undergroundexhibit hall and lecture hall on the up level. The function of the college and offices is well kept in mind by usingregular shapes for almost each unit. Yet applying zigzag corridor to connect these units creates abundant intereststhroughout inside and outside space. In the meanwhile, existing trees are incorporated into the design to addmore charms to this complex.

Different materials and tectonics are applies to the different components of the complex. College sector is wrappedby COR-TEN Steel sheet panels. The unique texture and color of the panels and the smoothness of the glass createdelicate variation. Precoated cement panel is introduced into the office sector. Regular and irregular window bandsprovide sunlight to the office unites and corridors. Public gathering space is created by the combination of bothCOR-TEN steel panel and precoated cement panel. The vivid color and texture of COR-TEN steel panel is contractedwith plain grey cement panel. This treatment indicates the symbolic meaning of this project, the juxtaposition oftwo different cultures.

Landscape design plays a very important role of this design as wall. The retained existing metasequoias, surroundedby office sector, public gathering area and XuRi Building form an entry plaza of the complex. Connected with 12.9Memorial Park, this space will become a very important outdoor space to serve the entire campus. The connectionbetween two parts of the building formed a roof pool and a sunken garden, which becomes an intermediabetween urban space and campus space. A semi private garden, created by college and office sector, gives apeaceful place for studying and relaxing.

Eventually, by applying different geometries, materials, colors and tectonics, we create a unique architectural piecethat has a through and profound group of the meaning of cultural exchange between China and France.